NORTH BERGEN -- After five years of debate among residents, the North Bergen Planning Board voted on Tuesday to unanimously approve the Appleview luxury condominium project on River Road in North Bergen, near the Guttenberg border.

Scaled down from the original nine stories and 140 units proposed in the spring of 2007, the project, now five stories and 59 units, will be built at 7009 and 7101 River Rd. below the Palisade Cliffs.

It has generated heated controversy which, despite Tuesday’s action, may not be over.

John Lamb, attorney for residents of the Galaxy Towers in Guttenberg who have fought the project from the start, said they may go to court to appeal.

Opponents of the proposal have raised a long list of objections. They complained that the initial plan would block their views of the Hudson River and New York skyline. They objected to the variances from the zoning codes requested by developer Carmelo Spoleti concerning lot coverage and the degree to which the project could affect the Palisade Cliffs, which were declared a landmark by the National Parks Service in 1983. They complained that the project will be built next to a gas pipeline.

For more on this story, see this weekend's North Bergen reporter, or come back to hudsonreporter.com and scroll down to read North Bergen News starting Sunday.